Japanese Eating Champ Could Lose His Chomp

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese eating champion Takeru Kobayashi is being treated for an arthritic jaw that could douse his hopes for taking a seventh straight title at the annual Independence Day hot dog eating competition on Coney Island.

Last year, the 165-pound champion won his sixth straight Yellow Mustard Belt at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest by devouring a then-world record 53 3/4 frankfurters in 12 minutes.

A California man broke the record earlier this month by chomping down more than 59 franks in 12 minutes.

But earlier this week, Kobayashi, 29, said on his website blog that his “jaw has abandoned the frontline” during his training for this year’s July 4 event.

“Already I can’t open my jaws more than just a little bit,” he wrote. “There’s no pain only if I open my mouth about enough for one finger. More than that is painful and I can’t open it.”

A specialist diagnosed him with arthritis of the jaw, he wrote.

“To tell the truth, I’m desperate about healing completely before the July 4 contest,” he said, adding that he had begun receiving treatment at a hospital and from a chiropractor.

On Tuesday, his United Food Fighters Organization said on its website that Kobayashi has found a doctor he can trust and was “creating an environment in which he can dedicate himself to healing.”

“The contest is coming up soon, and we’d happy if everyone kept him in their thoughts,” the group wrote.

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